Chapter 40: Shelter
After returning to the carriage, Qian Gongyu didn’t say a word.
Her gaze toward ‘Jiang Ten’ was filled with hesitation, as if she had a thousand words caught in her throat, swirling thoughts and a heart full of longing.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out to exercise. I just saw a martial practice ground outside.”
“You’re going out again? What if you run into Luo Weijin and the others? Even if they kill you, they’d only need to pay a small compensation!”
“Oh.”
Seeing how calm ‘Jiang Ten’ was, Qian Gongyu immediately felt some regret and muttered, “I wasn’t blaming you… It’s because of me that you offended Luo Weijin. I just don’t want you to get hurt…”
She paused for a moment. “Next time something like this happens, don’t get involved. It’s fine if they say a few harsh words—I’m used to it. Right now, the Qian family must endure humiliation. As the head of the Qian family, I should bear this pressure—”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“Huh?” Qian Gongyu was stunned.
Whatever she thought of made her mood plummet instantly.
“That’s right… Miss Shang values you so much, and she can help you avoid punishment for entering the Mansu Woodland. She can even offer you a better future. Compared to that, the Qian family really is too small…”
“I have no reason to stop you from chasing a better future. We’ve only known each other for one day…”
“If I were Miss Shang, I would definitely recruit you too. You were absolutely brilliant just now—surrounded by all those Imperial Guards, yet completely fearless…”
Qian Gongyu fell into a long-winded murmur.
Although Yan Qing wanted to explain that he wouldn’t be joining the Shang family, he felt doing so might give Qian Gongyu unnecessary hope.
After all, he planned to flee after clearing the Mansu Woodland instance.
But Qian Gongyu in this state was hard to communicate with.
Thankfully, he already knew how to handle her.
“Miss, shut up.”
Qian Gongyu immediately shut her mouth, looking pitifully at ‘Jiang Ten’ like a chick begging a hen not to leave.
“Introduce Mansu Woodland. Why is entering Mansu Woodland considered a punishment?”
“Mansu Woodland…”
When it came to serious matters, Qian Gongyu’s expression turned solemn.
She took a moment to organize her thoughts before slowly saying, “Mansu Woodland has always been a trial ground in the Jiangnan region since ancient times. In the past, it was monopolized by two or three families. Until the founding of Great Liang, Emperor Taizu designated Mansu Woodland as a national secret realm. Every year in mid-March, anyone can come to participate in the trial.”
“However, nobles rarely take part in this event. Most participants are sons of prominent families and their attendants. Like this time, the fourth Miss of the Shang family and the eldest Miss of the Jie family are actually here… Once this news spreads, the number of people here might double in a few days.”
Yan Qing found it odd.
“Didn’t you say anyone could come to Mansu Woodland? Then why is it only nobles and aristocrats? What about commoners?”
“How would commoners even hear about Mansu Woodland?”
At this, Qian Gongyu proudly lifted her chin.
“Even newly risen blue-banded families might not have the channels to know. Only my Qian family, with a legacy spanning thirty-three generations, unlike those upstart families with no foundation, knows about Mansu Woodland.”
Although my Qian family is merely a blue-banded noble, we’re still the very top tier among them!
But Yan Qing didn’t care whether the Qian family was the emperor or a beggar among blue-banded families.
He quickly urged Qian Gongyu to share the intel she had.
According to Qian Gongyu, Mansu Woodland is a continuous instance lasting three days.
The earliest entry date is the 15th, and the latest is the 21st.
After the 21st, no new participants are allowed.
Once someone enters Mansu Woodland, two ranking boards appear outside: the “Personal Scoreboard” and the “Total Scoreboard.”
Each person can stay in Mansu Woodland for six hours per day.
They may leave early, but they must enter for all three consecutive days.
Otherwise, they’re considered to have forfeited participation—even if it’s before the 24th, they won’t be allowed back in.
The reward mechanism in Mansu Woodland is also different from other secret realms.
It’s split into two settlements.
The first is after a Messenger completes the three-day trial—personal scores are tallied to generate treasure chest rewards.
The second is after the entire event ends, on March 24th—ten Grand Treasure Chests are generated based on the total scoreboard.
According to the rules set by Great Liang, individual chests belong to the individual.
But the ten Grand Treasure Chests are shared among all participating aristocratic and noble family children—note, only noble family children.
People like ‘Jiang Ten’, a black-banded guard, aren’t qualified to get a share.
At first glance, this rule seems discriminatory.
It is discriminatory, but its essence is that the court encourages noble youths to actively participate in Mansu Woodland, instead of sending guards or servants as a formality.
Yan Qing guessed that in-game, the ten Grand Treasure Chests generated by the total scoreboard likely serve as the PVP content of this limited-time event—whoever grabs them first gets them.
But in real life, there wouldn’t be any PVP.
The royal court and noble families had long since negotiated the allocation.
They wouldn’t let some stray dog grab a share.
As for the most important part—the content of the secret realm in Mansu Woodland—Qian Gongyu naturally shared everything she knew.
“I don’t know the exact details either,” Qian Gongyu admitted honestly. “Because I’ve never been inside.”
“But from what I know, Mansu Woodland isn’t so much a secret realm as it is a trial.”
“Everyone inside will encounter terrifying hallucinations. Those with weak wills will quickly succumb to the pressure and withdraw early. The longer one can endure inside, the higher their score will be.”
“Unlike other secret realms, anyone entering Mansu Woodland is teleported to their own trial ground, so grouping up isn’t possible.”
“But the trial isn’t necessarily solo. As long as enough people enter at the same time, a four-person team can often be formed to undergo the trial together.”
“In our aristocratic circles, the most important gain from Mansu Woodland isn't the reward chests from the score settlement, but talent selection.”
“Anyone who earns a high score in Mansu Woodland is proven to have extremely strong willpower and great potential. No matter which family they’re from, they’ll receive prioritized training and resources.”
“Generally speaking, those who can persist in Mansu Woodland for three hours are all talented enough to make the Hidden Dragon List.”
“The court also uses this method to select future pillars of the state, even awarding contribution points based on each family’s performance in Mansu Woodland.”
“In the past, I probably wouldn’t have come to participate in Mansu Woodland. After all, I’m the sole heir of the Qian family, and don’t need to prove my potential.”
“But ever since… the Qian family’s situation worsened, our contribution points have dropped year after year. If this keeps up, we’ll fall out of the noble ranks.”
“I have no choice but to seize every opportunity to raise our contribution points and safeguard the Qian family’s noble status.”
As she spoke, Qian Gongyu glanced secretly at ‘Jiang Ten’, lightly biting her lip, her fingers nervously twisting together, as if struggling internally.
“Jiang Ten-jie, you should go to the Shang family now and get your punishment lifted.”
She lowered her head and said slowly, “The reason I tried so hard to win you over is because I believed you’d surely score high in Mansu Woodland, and that way my Qian family could earn more contribution points as well.”
“If I hadn’t tried to use you, you wouldn’t have offended the Luo family, let alone gotten punished… it’s my fault.”
The carriage fell into a long silence.
Only the rustling of birds and insects could be heard from the forest outside.
After a while, Qian Gongyu caught sight of ‘Jiang Ten’ standing up, and immediately bowed her head even lower, wishing she could bury her face in her chest.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Rhythmic whooshing sounds echoed in the carriage.
Qian Gongyu looked up to see ‘Jiang Ten’ practicing punches in the clearing.
“You, what are you doing?”
“Didn’t you say it’s dangerous outside? Then I’ll train my fists here.”
“Aren’t you going to the Shang family? You don’t need to worry about me, after all I can’t protect—”
“I’m not worrying about you. But I won’t go to the Shang family either.”
“But without the Shang family’s protection, how will you escape punishment? The one in charge of the whipping is Luo Weijin’s man—he won’t let you go!”
“Simple. I just won’t give them the chance to punish me.”
Qian Gongyu stared blankly at ‘Jiang Ten’ practicing as if no one else was there.
She didn’t know what to say.
Not giving them the chance to punish… that would mean staying in Mansu Woodland for the full six hours—
She didn’t even know if anyone had ever achieved that theoretical record.
Even Shang Xinlei or Jie Yuanshao probably wouldn’t dare make such a bold claim.
Arrogant? Ignorant? Reckless?
She wanted to stress the danger of Mansu Woodland again, to let ‘Jiang Ten’ know how wild her thinking was.
But whether it was because she couldn’t bear to push away this precious gem she’d been lucky to find, or because ‘Jiang Ten’s confidence shone too brightly beyond even noble heirs, she said nothing.
Instead, she went back and changed into a more flexible training outfit.
“You want to practice your fists, right? I’ll go out and spar with you. Don’t underestimate me—I became a Messenger through fist techniques!”
“Your punches are average. Looks like you haven’t trained much before. I’ll teach you when I have time.”
“That one didn’t count. Let’s go again…”
“You’re improving fast. Looks like I have to take it seriously…”
“You just got lucky earlier. Now I’m going all out!”
“Ow, ow, ow—”
By the time they returned to the carriage, Qian Gongyu was completely exhausted, dirty from head to toe, clearly having been knocked down more than once.
“Jiang Ten, Jiang Ten, just now I helped you practice punches, now you have to bathe with me!”
“Mm.”
“Once we’ve bathed, stop practicing punches. Otherwise, you’ll sweat again. Hurry to bed—we have to enter Mansu Woodland early tomorrow. Come on, sleep with me. My bed can still fit another.”
“Mm.”
“This is my first time sleeping with someone my age. Hey, hey, Jiang Ten, what do you usually do?”
“Train.”
“I’m telling you, the chicken from my hometown is super tasty. You must come back with me to try it someday.”
“Mm.”
“Shang Xinlei’s outfit looks so good. I want to make a set when I go back. Should I order one for you too? What color do you like?”
“Miss, sleep.”
“Oh.”
Yan Qing put down the game console and glanced at the notes on Mansu Woodland on the table.
A random instance with up to four people, lasting three days, each session up to twelve hours.
The content is hallucinations and mental pressure.
Scoring is based on how long you can endure…
This instance… seems boring.
After all, players don’t actually enter the instance.
The game just puts pressure on the characters through illusions—what’s that got to do with the players?
And this is supposed to be the annual limited-time instance in The Messenger?
This is it?
Guess I’ll have to enter the instance to understand its mechanics.
…
…
The next morning, the sky was clear and bright.
Imperial Guards had already gathered, standing guard at the entrance to Mansu Woodland.
The noble children, having eaten breakfast, lounged in small groups on the grass chatting.
When Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao appeared, they immediately swarmed over and formed a social circle centered around the two of them.
Qian Gongyu and ‘Jiang Ten’ were naturally outsiders with no qualification to join.
Moreover, Qian Gongyu was visibly nervous, her little hands rubbing frantically like a fly.
“Jiang Ten, we’re about to go in… why don’t you go find Shang Xinlei instead…”
“If you really can’t endure, don’t force it. I heard some people went mad from staying too long in Mansu Woodland…”
“Or how about we wait till the end, and once they go in, we just leave? Uncle Lin is still in the carriage anyway—we can leave anytime!”
“Miss…”
“I’m not saying anything more, not saying anything…”
At that moment, Luo Weijin walked over, followed by his elderly guard.
The guard’s eyes, though aged and weathered, still gleamed sharply as they locked onto ‘Jiang Ten.’
“I’ve prepared a sharkskin whip,” Luo Weijin said with a sinister tone. “One lash can peel the flesh clean off—very satisfying, very pretty.”
“You better pray you can last inside.”
“You’re the one who should pray.”
“Huh?”
“If I have to leave Mansu Woodland early, the first thing I’ll do is kill you.”
“I won’t endure humiliation. I’ll only die.”
“Hahaha, just you—”
The moment ‘Jiang Ten’ pushed out her White Iron Straight Blade by one inch with her left thumb, the elderly guard behind Luo Weijin immediately pulled him behind himself, gripping his sword hilt with a solemn expression.
Luo Weijin gave a few dry laughs.
Seeing ‘Jiang Ten’ still expressionless, he finally realized she wasn’t joking.
He spat out a “lunatic” and fled in panic.
Qian Gongyu, however, grew nervous again.
“You were just joking earlier, right?”
At that moment, the assembly horn sounded, and everyone gathered at the entrance to Mansu Woodland.
Though called an entrance, it was actually just a forest shrouded in dense mist.
There wasn’t a specific gate—just walk into the fog to enter the secret realm of Mansu Woodland.
The official in charge of security gave a round of encouraging but hollow words, then told them to enter the forest within fifteen minutes.
According to tests by Great Liang, participants who enter within fifteen minutes of each other may be grouped together to resist the hallucinations.
Those who delay longer risk being “left out.”
Although all information indicated the grouping was random, countless people still rushed in right after Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao—what better way to bond than going through an adventure together?
If they could team up with these two noble heiresses in Mansu Woodland, they’d marry them in a heartbeat!
The only two exceptions were the Luo and Qian families.
Luo Weijin seemed worried they would sneak away, so he deliberately waited until the end.
Qian Gongyu bit her silver teeth and pulled ‘Jiang Ten’s hand as they stepped into the misty forest.
But such tricks obviously couldn’t override the instance mechanism.
As they stepped into the forest, the mist flowed like water and separated Qian Gongyu’s reluctant hand.
‘Jiang Ten’ kept walking through the fog.
She walked for about five minutes before the mist slowly dissipated.
What appeared on the screen was a clearing in the forest.
A simple wooden hut sat there, dilapidated, full of gaps and cracks, looking like it could collapse at the slightest gust.
“Jiang Ten! Come quick!”
Qian Gongyu poked her head out from the hut, waving frantically, her face unable to hide a devious grin.
Yan Qing thought the hallucination had already started, but upon entering the hut, he understood why Qian Gongyu was so greedily excited—
Besides ‘Jiang Ten’ and Qian Gongyu, their other two teammates were familiar faces.
Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao!
The two most prestigious and well-connected people in the entire camp were in this team!
No wonder Qian Gongyu was practically drooling.
Now she’d probably be willing to take a beating in place of ‘Jiang Ten’ without complaint.
“It’s you, huh.”
Jie Yuanshao had already settled in, sitting cross-legged on the ground and calmly said, “Let’s work hard together.”
“Jiang Ten, feel free to come to me anytime,” Shang Xinlei giggled.
Qian Gongyu walked over to ‘Jiang Ten’, leaned in close and whispered, “This might be our only chance in life. As long as we become friends with them, the Qian family will have nothing to worry about.”
“Later, you have to help me perform well—let them see the grace of the Qian family head… Hey, hey, Jiang Ten, pay attention to me!”
To the others, “Jiang Ten” looked like she was spacing out.
She stood at the door, motionless, her eyes unfocused and staring into the void.
In the Thieves’ House, Yan Qing wasn’t paying attention to the thoughts between the three girls at all.
He was fully focused on the new information appearing on the screen.
“Wooden Hut”
“Shelter Level: 0”
“Maximum Shelter Duration: 12 hours”
“Build Capacity: 0/6”
“Shelter Supplies: 0 Wood, 0 Stone (More resources must be collected to unlock) (Place collected resources near the hut to convert them into shelter supplies)”
“Available Upgrade Options—”
“Shelter Upgrade: Stone Hut – Requires 15 Wood, 5 Stone”
“Defense Facility: Wall – Requires 20 Stone”
“Attack Facility: Wooden Crossbow Mechanism – Requires 10 Wood (Can be built multiple times)”